Thailand: Who is Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi, whose title was taken away by the king?

The king of Thailand, surprising everyone, announced the withdrawal of the rank and royal designation of his royal ally, the female officer, even though she was given this honor only a few months ago.

In July, Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi was given the title of Official Consort, a 'royal ally', but the statement from the royal palace said that she was punished for 'attempts to make herself equal to the Queen'.

The new emperor King Maha Vajiralongkorn, became king after the death of his father in 2016. According to the law of the country, any criticism of the monarchy is prohibited and there is a provision of heavy punishment for it.

What is Royal Consort ?

Although the consort is generally used to refer to the wife, husband, or associate of the emperor, in the case of the Royal Consort of Thailand, the term has been used to refer to the king's wife as well as to an associate or partner.

Sineenat is 34 years old and was the first Royal Consort in the history of Thailand in the past century. When she was given this title in July, she became an official associate of the King, but not his wife.

Just a few days before this, King had married his former bodyguard and now his fourth wife, Queen Suthida.

Historically, multi-marriages and the creation of a royal consort in the royal family of Thailand were used to ensure royalty among the powerful families in all provinces of the state.

For centuries, Thai kings had many wives or consorts. The last time a Thai king held an official consort was in the 1920s, and the title was not given to anyone since it was a constitutional monarchy in 1932.

Who is Sininat?

There is little information about her background but the court had released some information about her.

According to Associate Professor Pavin Chhachavalpongpun associated with the Center for Southeast Asian Affairs at Kyoto University, "We have as much information about her past as the royal family has given."

Sineenat was born in Northern Thailand in 1985 and first worked as a nurse. When she grew close with the then Crown Prince Wazirlongkorn, her intervention increased with the Royal Military and security agencies.

She became a bodyguard, pilot, parachute soldier and joined the Royal Gaurd. Earlier this year, she was appointed to the post of Major General.

After many honors and titles, she was made the Royal Noble Consort in July.

Since then, she started appearing in fighter jets and other military costumes. She appears in action in the pictures released by the royal palace.

However, now these pictures have also been removed from the official website.

What now?

According to the official declaration in the royal court gadget, Sineenat was removed from her rank and position for 'misbehaving and disrespectful against the emperor'.

The statement said that she was very ambitious and had tried to 'raise her status as a queen'.

According to the statement, "The Royal Consort's behavior was considered abusive, disobedient against the King and Empress and abusing their powers by issuing orders on behalf of the King."

The statement said that 'King found that the title given was neither worth it nor did she behave appropriately according to her position.'